Tongue-and-grooved flooring



No. 624,862. 7 Patented May 9, I899. J. W. PIVER. TONGUED AND GRUDVED FLOORING, 81.6.

(Application filed Dec. 7, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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N as warm: c0 FHOYDLITMO, WASN wi/lme/mw l? NIIED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

JOHN W. PIVER, PINIA, GEORGIA.

TONGUE-AND-GROOVEID FLOORING, 81.0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 624,862, dated May 9, 1899.

Application filed December 7, 1898. Serial No. 698,547, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN W. PIVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pinia, in

the county of Dooly and State of Georgia, have" invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tongued and Grooved Flooring or Ceiling; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in tongue-and-groove-boards or matched flooring, the object being to reduce the waste to a minimum and at the same time obtain the proper depth of tongue and groove. I attain this object by having the boards cut in the manner hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is had to the accompaning drawings, wherein the same parts are designated by the same letters of reference throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is an end view of aboard cut and dressed in the usual manner, the dotted lines inclosing the view showing the size of the rough board from which the same was cut. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the end of a board cut and dressed in the manner contemplated by my invention,the rough board being of the same size as that shown in Fig. 1, the dotted lines connecting the two views showing the difierent widths of face obtained by the two methods. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the end of a board cut in a slightlymodified form. Fig. 4: is an end view of several boards fitted together asthey would be in general use. Fig. 5 is an end view of a board cut in a slightly-modified form.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2, A designates the board as cut and dressed from the rough board shown by the dotted lines 13. A designates the tongue, and A the groove, thereof, which are formed of the same size and depth as those of the usual construction. (Shown in Fig. 1.)

In the usual form (shown inFig. 1) the surfaces A are cut at right angles to the sides a of the tongue; but in my improved form the said surfacesare inclined inwardly, as shown at a in Fig. 2, while the surfaces a adjacent to the groove at the other edge of the board, are inclined outwardly, as also shown in Fig.

the boards may be taken off at the surface A, V

as shown at (1 thus leaving a good solid corner at the surface of the board. The inner corners or at the edges of the groove need not be so solid, as they only fill in against the inclined surface a of the next board.

By undercutting or inclining the edges a the surface A of the board may be made about an eighth of an inch wider than in the old form cut from the same-sized board and still give the same depth tongue and groove, as will be seen by comparison of Figs. 1 and 2. This difference, though small in each particular board, amounts to considerable saving when the boards are narrow.

In the drawings I have shown flooring cut from rough boards one and one-fourth inches wide, the finished board cut by the old method having a finished surface seven-eighths of an inch in width and those out in my improved form having a finished surface one inch in width. This in laying a floor sixteen by six-' on the under side of the board is cut off at right angles to the sides a of the tongue, and when these boards are fitted together small spaces a will be left on the under side of the floor to allow for expansion of the boards.

In practice I prefer to laysuch boards as are shown in Fig. 3 with those shown in Fig. 2 either alternately or every third or fourth board, as shown'in' Fig. 4, where a designates the said spaces which allow for the expansion of the boards. The boards thus formed and fitted will require nailing only at every second or third board, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. at.

In Fig. 5 is shown a modification in which the sharp corners a in Figs. 2 and 3 are dispensed with, the boards being cut at right angles to the surface A for a short distance, as shown atofi, and then cut on an incline, as shown at a Thus the same depth of tongue and groove are obtained and the same width of the surface A The corners, being right angles, are not so liable to injury as the corners c in Figs. -2.and 3.

I have described these boards as being particularly applicable to the making of floors; but it is obvious that they may also be used in ceilings, panels, and wherever matched boards can be used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A board having rabbets forming a tongue, the rabbet on the upper face of the board as laid being at its upper edge only suflicient to remove the rough edges of the wood, such rabbet inclining from such edge inwardly to the base of the tongue and having a grooved edge the counterpart to said tongue beveled from the rough edge of the groove back to the main portion of the board, substantially as described.

2. Aboard havingrabbets formingatongue, the rabbet on the upper edge of the board as laid being at its upper edge only sufficient to remove the rough edges of the wood, such rabbet inclining from such edge inwardly to the base of the tongue, and having a grooved edge the counterpart to the tongue beveled from the rough edges of the groove back to the main portion of the board, and having the rabbet on the lower side of the tongue at right angles thereto, substantially as described.

3. A matched floor composed of tongue-andgrooved boards, each board having rabbets forming the tongue, the rabbet on the upper face of the board as laid being at its upper edge onlysufficient to remove the rough edges of the wood, such rabbet inclining from such edge inwardly to the base of the tongue, and having a grooved edge the counterpart of the tongue beveled from the rough edge of the groove back to the solid timber, whereby the surface of the floor orceiling presents a planed joint, while any rough and unplaned edges of the board are inclosed'within the joint, substantially as described.

4. A matched floor composed of boards having rabbets formin g a tongue, such rabbets at the edges being only sufficient to remove the rough edges of the wood and inclining inwardly from such edges to the base of the tongue on each side thereof and having a grooved edge the counterpart of the tongue beveled from the rough edges of the groove back to the main portion of the board, combined with other boards of the same general form but having the rabbet on the lower side of the tongue at right angles thereto, whereby the surface of the floor presents a planed joint While any rough and unplaned edges of the board are inclosed within the joint and whereby spaces are left at intervals on the under side of the floor, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. PIVER.

W'itnesses:

W. T. OHEvEs, O. M. KILLIAN. 

